Advantages of high and deep hollow grinds on pocket folding knives...

L

lonestar1979

Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Messages
2,560
I love high and deep hollow grinds on folding knives that are used for edc ,theyre easy to sharpen,take screaming sharp razor edge and are strong enough for most if not all tasks folding knife is used for.My idea of perfect grind is the way its done on Buck110(newer models).I see on forums that most people prefer full flat grinds or saber,or convex.All input is welcome.I wish there would be more hollow grind folders on market,but done like Buck and Cold steel is doing in their previous folders,as they changed to flat saber in most of them now instead of hollow.(some of cs knives with hollow grinds just cut excellent,way better than spydercos and most others and are thinner behind the edge).
 
I just pick up a buck 110 to replace an old one I had lost and the first thing that caught my eyes was that nice deep thin hollow grind. When it comes to slicing their are definitely pros and cons with a lot of that being related to geometry, thickness behind the edge, spine thickness, Yada yada but the one strong argument that stood out was that hollow grinds are prone to chipping. That may have been true years past but with all these new super steels and better heat treatments that that argument should be negated IMO. I found an old post here on the BF on this subject that may give you some info lonestar > https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/hollow-grinds-why-are-they-so-hated.485191/
 
I like shallow full-height hollow grinds, but they're not commonly found. You get less binding than low ones while still having an overall thinner and more slicey geometry. I've reground a few knives like that. :)
 
Advantages of high and deep hollow grinds on pocket folding knives...
Click to expand...
Honestly the only advantage I see is it looks good for the magazine photos. Adds interesting detail. Dare I say it LOOKS like a newbie expects a "high quality" knife blade to look. Think : mini sword or some such.
In practice that thick back is just in the way; keep grinding I say . . . all the way to the spine and get that transition ridge off there.

Case in point = the best cutter I have when it comes to easy of cutting, thin at the edge (very thin!) like the hollow round knife and with care the edge went well over a year and a half with no sharpening . . . still whittling after a year, still shave sharp but not so whittling after a year and a half plus. Link > > > to photos and novella

For what it is worth my first REAL / high quality / locking folder was my Buck 110. After carrying it a few months I went looking for something thinner at the spine (and not hollow ground). I still have it but it isn't my first choice in a blade grind. My Gayle Bradley is quite a step up because the hollow is much less pronounced yet the overall blade tends to be thinner and a better performer.

My first choice . . . in say . . . a four inch long folding EDC work blade ? That would be full flat, 1.9mm at the spine (that blade happens to be CTS-XHP that I ground myself). Oh my gosh yes :thumbsup: :thumbsup:.
 
Last edited:
There's some definite advantages to high hollow grinds. My hands are a bit full at the moment but I'd be happy to delve into later if someone else doesn't address it first. :)
 
(some of cs knives with hollow grinds just cut excellent,way better than spydercos and most others and are thinner behind the edge).
Click to expand...
The CTS-XHP that I ground was a Cold Steel but it wasn't thin at the edge (or hollow ground) from the factory, Oh my goodness no. Just about as opposite as they could make . . it was a stab 'em up Ti Lite IV.
Now it's a useful knife. Boy is that a big understatement. ;)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
There's some definite advantages to high hollow grinds. My hands are a bit full at the moment but I'd be happy to delve into later if someone else doesn't address it first. :)
Click to expand...
Very cool; I can wait and look forward to your thoughts when you have the time.
I've recently become aware of kind of the opposite; the thin, convexed all the way to the spine slicer. As I understand it it is more of a kitchen knife than a folder or work knife but I'm intrigued.
The advantage being a bit less friction or suction if the slices are wet but can still sort of cut a controlled curve even if the blade is tall (wide between edge and spine but still thin at the spine and thinnish blade stock over all).

For me the opposite is say my Buck 110 which not only doesn't cut a curve well in a thick cardboard box but can actually unexpectedly shunt off to one side while cutting up a box for no obvious reason.
I hate that.
 
The thinness of well-done hollow grinds is what accounts for most of their benefit. They're usually, but not always, thinner across a broader portion of the blade's width than most full-flat grinds will be. There are some very thin flat grinds out there (I like Victorinox's kitchen knives for this), but so many others are still relatively thick by comparison to a well-executed hollow grind.

The most obvious benefit I've seen, to the hollow profile itself, is with kitchen use. In slicing fruits & vegetables, I've noticed a good hollow grind will usually minimize or prevent clinging to the blade of the foods being sliced, keeping an air gap between the fruit and the blade. Full flat grinds are terrible in that respect; it seems everything wants to cling to it, in the kitchen.
 
A lot of production knives place too much emphasis on making the blade more robust and not how it cuts.I use my knives for cutting,and a lot of modern knives look more like mini prybars or screwdrivers and are simply too thick behind the edge,but most knife users do not know the difference.Buck and cold steel do some nice hollows,but full hollow would even be better.On my code 4by cold steel the grind is really nice,high deep hollow,cuts so much better than a lot of knives I have including Spyderco endura and delica and also few Benchmades.
 
One advantage not mentioned here, but is a point that Chris Reeve makes, is that the edge doesn't thicken up after repeated sharpening, or at least, not nearly as quickly :)
 
I wish makers put more deep hollow ground knives on market.
This one is Kizer Feist reground to deep hollow by the person above this post.
Great slicer despite the relatively thick blade stock.

Feist_reground_best.JPG
 
Completely agree.
For a rational use it is the best option, regardless of marketing and fashions. Sharpening, better cut, less weight. Whenever it is well done, a large diameter wheel.
Chris Reeve, Buck, Loveless ... can not be wrong.
 
Yes, a full hollow grind will slice, skin or cut in general better than a flat grind. They are easy to sharpen and I've not experienced chipping
during use. DM
 
Sebenza has very nice hollow grind,wish more manufacturers would grind their knives that way or full hollow would be best.You can have thicker blade that still is superb cutter and very easy to sharpen.A lot of hollow grinds are not done properly and thats why most people do not like them ,also most knife enthusiasts do not use knives for anything besides cutting paper and place trust in marketing by major companies about performance of latest steels and grinds(most of it is just marketing and some of them perform actually worse but for higher price than true and tried steels and grinds.Properly done hollow and full hollow cuts better than flat grind and is easier to sharpen and gets sharper too.
 
Last edited:
Buck 110 and buck 118 personal have some of best hollows in production knives ive seen,too bad hollow grinds have been overtaken with thick ffg,saber,scandi,and low height hollow thats too thick behind edge.
 
So: some of the notable advantages and disadvantages of hollow grinds.

Rigidity increases cubically with thickness, and the flipside of that is also true. As a result of this, creating a blade that's thin but rigid without becoming very wide to hit a necessary spine thickness is a challenge. A hollow grind allows a thick spine, but without imposing a set limit on how thick the initial geometry behind the edge is. The deeper the hollowing is, the more sudden the transition into the spine becomes, and the more wedging the blade becomes in certain materials, so good hollow grind design works to minimize that. The edge will thicken less as you wear back into the blade relative to flat grinds or convexes, as well, which means less work in preserving a thin geometry. They're less resistant to torquing damage at the edge, however, and so this needs to be taken into account with how thin they're taken depending on the intended context of use.

I'd personally call the hollow grind on the Buck 110 just "passable". It's not as narrowly done as a lot of hollow grinds, but it could be done a lot better. The 110 is a case where it's designed for strength and ease of maintenance and that's dialed in fine for the market it targets, but it's not the most efficient grind for folks who aren't going to be digging with the point and using the knife like a demolition bar. The plunge line is brought to the line of the tip to keep the tip strength at the maximum for the stock thickness when a slightly less hollow full-height grind would be a better optimization in my opinion. The full-height gradual hollow of the classic Douk-Douk is a perfect example of a factory hollow grind done right in my opinion.
 
Last edited:
Im just comparing buck110 to some other more popular knives in these various "modern" grinds,and it performs way better in real world ,but as i said before,most people do not know the difference and preach what main knife manufacturers serve them as "better" .It is the same thing with a lot of new "steels", and most knife enthusiasts rave about them but havent cut anything besides paper.Douk douk has nice grind,yes,I wish Spyderco and Benchmade would do high and deep hollow grinds too,or at least offer some versions of their knives with that option,instead of saber etc with thick edges .
 
Id love to have Spyderco endura or delica in high and deep hollow grinds,and also a lot of Benchmade models.If its ffg,i like thinner stock than they offer now.Maybe only solution is professional regrind,someone to put high hollow for me on one of those knives.Even knives like Opinel ,id love to see then in hollow,with little thicker stock but hollow ground,it would be straight razor lol:)
I liked old version of Endura in hollow grind and aus8 way better than new one,but lost it somewhere,and that hollow should be little higher too.My code4 by cold steel in clip point has very nice hollow ,cuts way better than ffg endura and many other knives too and gets little sharper easier.Cold steel changed too i think in new models to high saber flat instead of hollow.I guess people are abusing their knives or whatever,i never had any chips,rolling or ripples on my hollow grinds and have used them hard for any type of cutting.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top